Improvement in ore-separators



.T. RICHARDS.

ORE-SEPARATOR.

. No. 192,191. PaLen ted'Ju'ne19,71 877.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH RICHARDS, OF BATTLE MOUNTAIN, NEVADA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ORE-SEPARATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 192, 191, dated J one 19, 1877; application filed April 13, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, JOSEPH RICHARDS, of

Battle Mountain, county of Lander, and State ofNevada, have invented an Improved Ore Sizing, Concentrating, and Washing Mill; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a and arrangement of devices i'or sizing, sepa rating, settling, and treating ore-pulp in order to concentrate and grade the particles of ore preparatory to subjecting them to the reducing process. My inveritiomtherefore, resolvesitself into a milling operation, the object of which is the mechanical separation of the different qualities and grades of ore, and the elimination before final treatment of the gangue or Worthless portion of the ore.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspccth'e view.

A A represent two sizing-boxes, which are mounted at one end of the mill structure, and into which the pulp or tailings is delivered by suitable spouts. These boxes are'placed loosely inside of guides b b, and each one rests upon a suitable platform. A stem, 0, is arranged to project upward from each box, and on this stem is a tappet, d. A cam, c, is secured upon a horizontal shalt, F, above each box, in the proper position to strike the tappets' and lift and drop the boxes in the manner of operat ing. stampers in a stamp-mill. Inside of each box 1 secure two or more inclined screens, 9 9, one above the other, each alternate screen being inclined in an opposite direction. The fineness of these screens is graded from the top down, the upper screen being the coarsest. I

An opening is made in the sides of the boxes at the foot of each screen, and a chute, h, leads from each opening down to an elevated tank, I, which is mounted on legs on the floor below. By inclining each alternate screen in an opposite direction, one-half of the chutes and one-half ot'the tanks'I will be on each side of the sizing-boxes. The pulp, therefore, which falls into the sizing boxes will be screened by the upper screens so that only the coarsest portion will be delivered into the upper chute and pass into the outside tanks.

The second screen will separate a second grade, and its chute will direct it into the tank ()ll the opposite side, and so on down, separating the grains according to their size until the very fine portion, which is known as sliines, passesoifthrough a spout, j, at the foot of each sizing-box, which conducts them to a series of settling'tanks, to be hereinafter described.

The'pulp which accumulates in the elevated tanks 1 is occasionally drawn 'ofi' into a car, K,

and conveyed by it along atrack, 1,: to the opposite end of the mill, where it is dumped in equal proportions into two spouts, m in. These spouts deliver the pulp into my concentrator,

which consists of these tanks, a, a and n Inside ot' the middle tank a is a plunger,p,

which is connected by a pitman with a crankshaft above, so that it is kept in continual motion. The two outside tanks 10 'n 'are connected with the middle tank by an openingat or near the bottoms, and a gate, 9, is arranged to regulate the size of these openings. The spouts m m deliver the pulp into the outside boxes a W, in each of which is placed a screen, i. A quantity of water is admitted in to these tanks n W, so that the action of the plunger causes the pulp to be thoroughly washed and separated from any fine portion which.

might have found its way into the tanks. That portion of the pulp which remains above the screens 03 i is occasionally skimmed off and carried back to the spout j, where it is mixed with the slimes, and is subsequently treated with them, while the portion which settles through the screensis drawn off through the doors or gates g g in a clean condition ready for subsequent treatment. I employ two sets of these concentrators and washers, one set being located on each side of the mill, and each set serves to treat the pulp which is taken from one of the sizers. Usually Ishall construct the boxes n a with overflow-spouts, which will carry oif the skimmings and thus render the operation continuous.

The slimes, which, asI-above stated, passed off through the spouts j at the foot of each sizing-box, together with the settlings and washings from the concentrators a n which have been :added to them, are conveyed by a series of troughs to a tank, t, into the bot.-

3 is secured. Each plug has a stem, y, ex-' tending upward and passing through a crosspiece which extends across the top of the tank, so that the conical plug can be raised or lowered, as desired, in order to adjust the size of the opening, according to the quantity of pulp it is desired to draw of.

The stuff which passes through these holes is received in. inclined tanks z z below, in

which the particles will settle to the lowest part in properly cleansed and concentrated condition, leaving the lighter portion on top. The heavier portions of the slimes delivered into the tank t by the spouts j will settle down through a hole in the bottom of the tank and be conducted by a spout, D, into a tank, E, from which it overflows, into a tank, f, in afit condition to be subjected to the reducing process.

This system of ore-washing, concentrating, and sizing apparatus is nearly automatic in its operation, so that the ore is put in proper condition for treatment at a slight expense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1: The combination, with the'sizing box or boxes A, with their graduating-screens g g and spout or spouts j, of the series of conducting-troughs and the settling-tanks t w w 00, all

constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The sizing and washing tank it, connected by the pipe to with the elevated water-reservoir V, in combination with the settling-tanks as a; m, with their conical-plug openings, and the inclined receiving-tanks z 2, all combined and arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand.

JOSEPH RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

0. T. STACY, FRANK A. BROOKS. 

